Antibiotics in the poultry industry: a review on antimicrobial resistance

Since the first practical application of penicillin during World War II, the use of antibiotics has become an essential tool to treat infectious diseases and, after this event, many other drugs have been described, tested and used. However, the use of antimicrobials extends beyond the therapeutic treatment of animals and men, considering that, in some countries, these drugs are used in food producing animals with the objective of improving performance and reducing mortality. However, according to the World Health Organization, the use of antimicrobials in animal production should be controlled and restricted due to the risk of selecting resistant bacteria in different environments when these drugs are used indiscriminately. Therefore, the European Union prohibited the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in feed for production animals in 2006 as a precaution and this measure forced other countries, including Brazil, to adapt to this new demand in order to continue exporting products for this important economic bloc. Antimicrobial resistance may be coded by chromosomes or plasmids, which facilitates gene spreading. In addition, mechanisms of genetic interchange provide transmission from one bacterium to another, generating the occurrence of resistance to multiple antimicrobial drug classes, named multidrug resistance. This issue has been considered a major concern to the public health, since the transference of resistance to the human population by chicken meat is not clearly described. Therefore, this study reviewed the use of antibiotics in the poultry industry and, in order to do it so, information on the discovery and use of antimicrobials, mechanisms of action and resistance, as well as their impacts on the poultry industry were gathered. In addition, a lack in scientific literature has been observed in this study due to the low amount of papers addressing this theme in the poultry industry area.Desde a primeira aplicação prática da penicilina durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, o uso de antimicrobianos se tornou uma ferramenta essencial para o tratamento de doenças infecciosas e, após este evento, muitos outros antibióticos passaram a ser descritos, testados e utilizados. Entretanto, o uso de antimicrobianos se extende além do tratamento terapêutico de humanos ou animais, uma vez que é utilizado em algumas partes do mundo na alimentação de animais de produção com o intuito de melhorar o desempenho e reduzir a mortalidade. Todavia, de acordo com a Organização Mundial de Saúde, deve haver controle e restrição ao uso de antimicrobianos na produção animal, pois o uso indiscriminado pode selecionar bactérias resistentes em diversos ecossistemas. Com base nesse pressuposto, a União Europeia, por precaução, vetou o uso de antibióticos como promotores de crescimento na alimentação dos animais de produção no ano de 2006 e essa proibição fez com que muitos países, incluindo o Brasil, se adaptasse à nova legislação para continuar exportando a esse bloco econômico. A resistência às drogas antibacterianas pode ser codificada pelo cromossomo bacteriano ou em plasmídeos, o que facilita a difusão de genes. E é através desses mecanismos de intercâmbio genético que muitas bactérias se tornaram resistentes a múltiplas classes de agentes antimicrobianos, sendo este fenômeno denominado multirresistência. Esta problemática vem se tornando fonte de preocupação para a saúde pública, uma vez que não está claramente descrita a transferência de resistência à população humana pelo consumo da carne de frango. Diante do exposto, revisou-se o tema antibióticos no setor avícola e reuniu-se informações sobre a descoberta e uso dos antimicrobianos, seus mecanismos de ação e de resistência, bem como os impactos dessa problemática na avicultura. Adicionalmente, com esse estudo pôde-se observar uma lacuna na literatura científica devido à escassez de trabalhos acerca dessa temática na avicultura

Escherichia coli and Salmonella ser. Saintpaul natural co-infection in a free-living ruddy ground dove (Columbina talpacoti): a case report

ABSTRACT This study reports a co-infection of Escherichia coli and Salmonella in a free-living ruddy ground dove (Columbina talpacoti) received at the Laboratory of Ornithological Studies of the State University of Ceará, Brazil. The bird presented diarrhea, leg paralysis and anorexia, and died shortly after. Necropsy was then performed and samples from lung, kidney, liver and intestine were collected for microbiological and histopathological analyses. Escherichia coli was isolated from cloacal swab, lung and kidney samples. Salmonella ser. Saintpaul was identified in liver and spleen samples. Escherichia coli isolates were tested for the presence of eight diagnostic genes for diarrheagenic pathotypes (STEC, ETEC, EPEC, EIEC, EAEC) with conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR). EAEC was detected in the lung and kidney, and STEC in the intestine. In conclusion, Columbina talpacoti is susceptible to enteroaggregative Escherichia coli and Salmonella ser. Saintpaul infection, which may have public health implications

Escherichia coli and Salmonella ser. Saintpaul natural co-infection in a free-living ruddy ground dove (Columbina talpacoti): a case report

<div><p>ABSTRACT This study reports a co-infection of Escherichia coli and Salmonella in a free-living ruddy ground dove (Columbina talpacoti) received at the Laboratory of Ornithological Studies of the State University of Ceará, Brazil. The bird presented diarrhea, leg paralysis and anorexia, and died shortly after. Necropsy was then performed and samples from lung, kidney, liver and intestine were collected for microbiological and histopathological analyses. Escherichia coli was isolated from cloacal swab, lung and kidney samples. Salmonella ser. Saintpaul was identified in liver and spleen samples. Escherichia coli isolates were tested for the presence of eight diagnostic genes for diarrheagenic pathotypes (STEC, ETEC, EPEC, EIEC, EAEC) with conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR). EAEC was detected in the lung and kidney, and STEC in the intestine. In conclusion, Columbina talpacoti is susceptible to enteroaggregative Escherichia coli and Salmonella ser. Saintpaul infection, which may have public health implications.</p></div

Detecção e avaliação do perfil de sensibilidade antimicrobiana de enterobactérias isoladas de periquitos cara-suja (Pyrrhura griseipectus) em cativeiro

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to detect enterobacteria in captive Grey-breasted parakeet from a commercial breeding located in the state of Ceara. 25 individual cloacal swabs were collected and this material was subjected to microbiological processing to obtain the bacterial isolation, identification, and evaluation of the sensitivity profile to antimicrobials. The bacterial isolation in ten samples was determined, belonging to the genera Enterobacter, Hafnia, Serratia, Escherichia, Pantoea and Klebsiella, in which these last three corresponded to the bacteria most isolated, with respective percentages of 28.6%, 21.4%, and 21.4%. As for the sensitivity profile, antibiotics to which the bacteria showed more resistance were trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (57%), tetracycline (21%), and azithromycin (43%). Thus, it was shown that the parakeets were carriers of Enterobacteriaceae with resistance characteristics